Control apparatus, control method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program

ABSTRACT

An instruction to execute a print job in which a feeding stage of an image forming apparatus has been designated for each copy is accepted. The execution of the accepted print job is controlled. In addition, if the execution of the print job is a hold printing operation in the image forming apparatus, an operation to change a copy count via an interface screen is controlled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a control apparatus that controls theexecution of a job, a control method, and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program.

Description of the Related Art

When document data created by an application in a personal computer orthe like is to be printed by an image forming apparatus, a programcalled a driver which is suited for the image forming apparatus isinstalled in the personal computer, and the document data is convertedinto a print job and transmitted. Here, a print job is data formed fromprint settings and print data. In order to cause the image formingapparatus to output a desired output result, the driver can designatevarious kinds of print settings.

A carbon copy function is one of such settings and is a function ofprinting and outputting, in addition to an output product forsubmission, a duplicate copy of the output product (Japanese PatentLaid-Open Nos. 7-175605 and 2016-152025). In the carbon copy function,feeding trays are designated for the submission output product and forthe duplicate output product, respectively. It is also possible tooutput a plurality of output products for submission and a plurality ofoutput products as duplicate copies, and the feeding tray will bedesignated for each copy in this case.

In recent years, a function in which a print job is temporarily held ina device or a server and the print processing of the job is startedbased on an instruction from the device has become widespread. There isalso known an apparatus that allows the print setting to be changed bysuch a function (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-160617).

In a case in which a carbon copy job that has been received from adriver is temporarily held in an image forming apparatus, there is apossibility that printing will not be executed appropriately if theprint copy count setting is changed by a user and the associationbetween the print copy count and the feeding copy count becomesinconsistent. For example, if a carbon copy job is executed after theprint copy count has been decreased, each copy may not be output from adesired feeding stage. In addition, if a carbon copy job is executedafter the print copy count has been increased, sheets may be outputwastefully.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentionedproblems with the conventional technology. The present inventionprovides a control apparatus, a control method, and a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing a program that can prevent printingfrom being executed inappropriately due to changes in the print copycount made by a user when a carbon copy job is to be executed.

The present invention in one aspect provides an image forming apparatusthat executes printing based on a print job, comprising: an acceptingunit configured to accept an instruction to execute a print job in whicha feeding stage of the image forming apparatus has been designated foreach copy; a display unit configured to display a user interface screenfor accepting an operation to change a copy count of the print job; anda control unit configured to control the execution of the print jobaccepted by the accepting unit, wherein in a case in which the executionof the print job is a hold printing operation in the image formingapparatus, the control unit controls the operation to change the copycount via the user interface screen.

According to the present invention, when a carbon copy job is to beexecuted, it is possible to prevent printing from being executedinappropriately due to changes in the print copy count made by a user.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing the arrangement of an image forming system;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams each showing the arrangement of anapparatus in the image forming system;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the software arrangement of an image formingapparatus;

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing the overall sequence of print jobprocessing;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are views each showing a UI screen of a printerdriver;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing to generate a carbon copyjob;

FIG. 7 is a view schematically showing a print job;

FIG. 8 is a view showing bibliographic information;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views each showing a UI screen of the image formingapparatus;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating UI-screen display control processingof the image forming apparatus;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are flowcharts illustrating the UI-screen displaycontrol processing of the image forming apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the UI-screen display controlprocessing of the image forming apparatus;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the UI-screen display controlprocessing of the image forming apparatus;

FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C are views each showing a carbon copy settingscreen;

FIG. 15 is a view showing a print setting screen;

FIGS. 16A and 16B are sequence charts each showing the overall sequenceof print job processing;

FIGS. 17A and 17B are views showing a UI screen of an image formingapparatus;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are flowcharts each illustrating processing togenerate bibliographic information for each copy;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating UI-screen display control processingof the image forming apparatus;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating carbon copy job execution controlprocessing;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are flowcharts illustrating the carbon copy jobexecution control processing;

FIG. 22 is a view showing a UI screen of an image forming apparatus;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating carbon copy job execution controlprocessing; and

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating the carbon copy job executioncontrol processing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedhereinafter in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Itis to be understood that the following embodiments are not intended tolimit the claims of the present invention, and that not all of thecombinations of the aspects that are described according to thefollowing embodiments are necessarily required with respect to the meansto solve the problems according to the present invention. Note that thesame reference numerals denote the same components throughout theembodiments, and a description thereof will be omitted.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a view showing an image forming system according to thisembodiment. Image forming apparatuses 100, 101, and 102 are connected toa network 120 and can communicate with a PC 110 (information processingapparatus) and other external apparatuses via the network 120 by a wiredor wireless medium. The PC 110 transmits, for example, a print job toeach of the image forming apparatuses 100, 101, and 102 via the network120. Upon receiving a print job, each of the image forming apparatuses100, 101, and 102 executes print processing based on the received printjob. In the following description, the image forming apparatus 100 willbe used as a representative example of the image forming apparatuses100, 101, and 102 for the sake of descriptive convenience.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the image formingapparatus 100. Although a multifunctional peripheral (MFP), whichintegrates a plurality of functions such as a printer function, ascanner function, and the like, is assumed to be the image formingapparatus 100 according to this embodiment, a printer that does not havea scanner function may also be assumed as the image forming apparatus.

A CPU 201 reads out control programs stored in a ROM 202 and executesvarious kinds of processing operations for integrally controlling theimage forming apparatus 100. The CPU 201 is connected to other units bya bus 200. The ROM 202 stores, for example, the control programs. A RAM203 is used, for example, as a temporary storage area for the mainmemory of the CPU 201, a work area and the like. An HDD 204 stores, forexample, various kinds of data such as print target data, a scan image,and the like.

Although it will be assumed that the one CPU 201 will execute theprocessing operations which are illustrated in the respective flowcharts(to be described later) in the image forming apparatus 100, another modemay be adopted. For example, it may be arranged so that a plurality ofCPUs will cooperate and execute the processing operations, which areillustrated in the respective flowcharts (to be described later).

A printer I/F 206 connects a printer 207 (printer engine) and the bus200. The printer 207 executes print processing based on print targetimage data received from an external apparatus, image data read andgenerated by a scanner 209, and the like. A scanner I/F 208 connects thescanner 209 (scanner engine) and the bus 200. The scanner 209 opticallyreads an original and generates image data. The image data generated bythe scanner 209 is printed by the printer 207 or stored in the HDD 204in accordance with the functions of the image forming apparatus 100.

An operation unit I/F 210 connects an operation unit 211 and the bus200. The operation unit 211 includes a keyboard and a liquid crystaldisplay unit which has a touch panel function, and can display variouskinds of user interface screens. The operation unit 211 acceptsinstructions and information to the image forming apparatus 100 from auser. A network I/F 212 executes communication with an apparatus on thenetwork 120 by connecting to the network 120. The network I/F 212receives, for example, a print job and print-target image datatransmitted from an apparatus on the network 120. If the printerfunction is to be executed, print processing is executed by the printer207 based on the received print job and image data.

The bus 200, the CPU 201, the ROM 202, the RAM 203, the HDD 204, theprinter I/F 206, the scanner I/F 208, the operation unit I/F 210, andthe network I/F 212 will be collectively called a control unit 220.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the PC 110. A CPU221 reads out control programs stored in a ROM 222 and executes variouskinds of processing operations for integrally controlling the PC 110.The CPU 221 is connected to other units by a bus 240. The ROM 222stores, for example, the control programs. A RAM 223 is used, forexample, as a temporary storage area for the main memory of the CPU 221,a work area and the like. An HDD 224 stores, for example, various kindsof data such as print target data, a scan image, and the like.

An operation unit I/F 230 connects an operation unit 231 and the bus240. The operation unit 231 includes a pointing device and a keyboard,and accepts instructions and information to the PC 110 from the user. Adisplay unit I/F 233 connects a display unit 234 and the bus 240. Thedisplay unit 234 includes a display and displays information of the PC110 and various kinds of interface screens to the user.

A network I/F 232 executes communication with an apparatus on thenetwork 120 by connecting to the network 120. The network I/F 232transmits, for example, a print job and print-target image data to theimage forming apparatus 100.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the arrangement of software for controlling thecontrol unit 220 of the image forming apparatus 100. Note that eachsoftware module shown in FIG. 3 is stored as a file in the HDD 204, isloaded to the RAM 203 by the OS or another software module, and isexecuted by the CPU 201.

A job reception module 301 executes processing to receive a print jobthat has been transferred via the network I/F 212. Here, a communicationprotocol used to receive the print job is, for example, LPR or RAW. Aprint job to be received by the job reception module 301 can be ofvarious kinds of formats. For example, a print job may be received in aformat in which a job control command portion has been added to a PDL(Page Description Language) portion such as LIPS, PostScript, or thelike. Details of the print job to be received by the job receptionmodule 301 will be later. The print job received by the job receptionmodule 301 is temporarily stored in the RAM 203.

A job analysis module 302 is connected to the job reception module 301and determines whether to transmit a notification about the receivedprint job to a job storage module 303 or a print processing module 309.This determination will be made based on a setting value preset in theHDD 204, information set in the job control command portion of the printjob that was stored in the RAM 203 by the job reception module 301, or acommunication parameter (for example, the IP address) of the transfersource. Hence, the job analysis module 302 can analyze the job controlcommand portion included in the print job. Note that it is not necessaryto wait until the job reception module 301 receives all of the data ofthe print job to make this determination, and the determination may bemade at the point when the job control command portion is received. Thejob control command portion will be described later.

The job storage module 303 stores the print job received by the jobreception module 301 as print data 305 in the HDD 204. The job storagemodule 303 uses a data interpretation module 304 to analyze theinformation of the print data and creates a piece of bibliographicinformation 306 in which the analysis result has been recorded. Thebibliographic information includes information to specify the print datastored in the HDD 204. The job storage module 303 also stores thebibliographic information in the HDD 204. Note that it may be set sothat the bibliographic information will be stored in the HDD 204 in adata structure which will allow a stored job control module 307 toconduct a search rapidly.

The data interpretation module 304 extracts at least some pieces ofinformation of the print data to be included in the bibliographicinformation. The pieces of information to be extracted here are, forexample, the job name, job owner information, page count, copy count,color information, and the like included in the print job. The datainterpretation module 304 also extracts print settings that can bechanged by a print data change module 308. The print settings that canbe changed are, for example, the print range setting, the color setting,and the double-sided printing setting. The data interpretation module304 may not only extract information from the job control command butalso extract at least some pieces of information of print data to beincluded in the bibliographic information by interpreting the PDL dataportion. The PDL data portion will be described later.

The stored job control module 307 displays, on the operation unit 211connected to the operation unit I/F 210, a user interface screen whichincludes the plurality of pieces of bibliographic information stored inthe HDD 204 based on the input from the operation unit I/F 210. Thestored job control module 307 may display a user interface screen (forexample, a login screen including a user ID and a password) used by theuser to log in before the user interface screen is displayed.Alternatively, it may be set so that the user will be specified by cardauthentication using RFID or the like. When the user information can bespecified, the stored job control module 307 selects, based on thespecified user information, a corresponding piece of bibliographicinformation from the plurality of pieces of bibliographic informationstored in the HDD 204 and displays the selected bibliographicinformation on the user interface screen.

In the user interface screen displayed by the stored job control module307, at least one piece of bibliographic information can be selected andan instruction such as an instruction to start the printing of printdata corresponding to this piece of bibliographic information can beaccepted. The stored job control module 307 also transmits the printdata to the print processing module 309. Before transmitting the printdata to the print processing module 309, the stored job control module307 may also change the print data in the print data change module 308and transmit the changed print data. Furthermore, the stored job controlmodule 307 updates the corresponding bibliographic information based onthe information changed by the print data change module 308. The storedjob control module 307 can also overwrite the print data in the HDD 204by the print data changed by the print data change module 308.

The print data change module 308 executes print data change processingbased on the received print data and the print setting information. Thechanged print data is stored temporarily in the RAM 203 or the HDD 204.The print processing module 309 executes print processing by performingrasterization processing on the print data transmitted from the jobanalysis module 302 or the stored job control module 307 andtransmitting the generated bitmap data to the printer 207 via theprinter I/F 206.

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the overall print jobprocessing sequence of the image forming system. First, the PC 110accepts (S410) an instruction from the user and generates (S411) a printjob. Subsequently, the PC 110 submits (S412) the generated print job tothe image forming apparatus 100. When the print job is submitted, theimage forming apparatus 100 registers (S413) the print job by generatingbibliographic information corresponding to the print job so that thereceived print job can be printed later. Subsequently, the receivedprint job is stored (S414) in a storage device included in the imageforming apparatus 100.

In the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, it ispossible to make a hold OFF setting in which a print job received by theimage forming apparatus 100 is directly printed and a hold ON setting inwhich the received print job is temporarily held and the printing of theheld print job is started under the instruction of the user. If the holdON setting has been made, the user can confirm the job name and theprint settings of the held print job and preview the image of the heldprint job on the user interface screen. It is also possible to changethe print settings, and for example, the copy count can be changed byinput via a numeric keypad.

Next, after accepting an operation start instruction from the user(S415), the image forming apparatus 100 displays (S416) a login screenfor the user to log in on the display of the operation unit 211. Next,upon accepting the login information input by the user (S417), the imageforming apparatus 100 performs login processing (S418). Furthermore, theimage forming apparatus 100 displays (S419) a list including the printjob registered in step 5413 on the user interface screen.

Next, upon accepting the selection of the print job by the user (S420),the image forming apparatus 100 sets the selected print job in aselected state and displays (S421) the user interface screen again.Next, upon accepting an instruction to change the copy count from theuser (S422), the image forming apparatus 100 stores (S423) the acceptedcopy count change setting as a provisional copy count.

Next, upon accepting an instruction to print the selected print job(S424), the image forming apparatus 100 detects (S425) the change in thecopy count of the selected print job and displays (S426) a settingscreen on the display of the image forming apparatus 100. When the usermakes a setting on the setting screen (S427), the image formingapparatus 100 executes (S428) the print processing based on the printsettings changed in 5423. Subsequently, the image forming apparatus 100stores (S429) the print setting information used in the printingoperation in step S428 as history information. If a new piece of historyinformation is not stored here, a previously stored piece of historyinformation will be updated. Note that although FIG. 4 described thecase of a print job, a carbon copy job can also be included in the printjob in this embodiment.

FIGS. 5A to 5C describe examples of a method of generating a carbon copyjob in the printer driver of the PC 110. FIG. 5A shows a user interfacescreen (UI screen) of the printer driver installed in the PC 110. Thescreen shown in FIG. 5B is opened when a carbon copy setting button 501is pressed.

FIG. 5B shows a screen for making detailed settings concerning a carboncopy job, and the output tray for the original copy is displayed in adisplay area 302. The designation of the output tray for each carboncopy is made in a display area 303, and feeding trays mounted to theimage forming apparatus 100, excluding the output tray for the originalcopy, are displayed as selection options. Here, for example, if the userchecks the check boxes for tray 2 and tray 3 and presses “OK”, printingis executed by using sheets stored in tray 1 for the first copy which isthe original copy, sheets stored in tray 2 for the second copy which isa carbon copy, and sheets stored in tray 3 for the third copy which isalso a carbon copy.

FIG. 5C is a view showing an example of job control information relatedto a carbon copy operation included in the print job which istransmitted from the PC 110 to the image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 5Ccorresponds to the setting contents described for FIG. 5B. As shown inFIG. 5C, the copy count including the original copy and carbon copy,which is 3 in this case, is designated in the job control information.The job control information also includes, as feeding stage informationfor each copy, the count value of the designated tray count (feedingstage count). Since the designated feeding stage count is 3, 3 has beendesignated. Also, as the feeding stage information for each copy, theinformation of the feeding stage designated for each copy has beendesignated. Since tray 1 is designated for the original copy, tray 1 isdesignated for the first copy. Since tray 2 and tray 3 are designatedfor the carbon copies, tray 2 is designated for the second copy, andtray 3 is designated for the third copy.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing to generate a carbon copyjob in the PC 110. The processing of FIG. 6 is implemented when, forexample, a program stored in the ROM 222 of FIG. 2B is loaded to the RAM223 and the CPU 221 executes the loaded program.

In step S601, the CPU 221 determines whether the print screen has beendisplayed. If it is determined that the print screen has not beendisplayed, the processing of FIG. 6 ends. If it is determined that theprint screen has been displayed, the CPU 221 determines, in step S602,whether a printer properties button has been pressed on the printscreen. If it is determined that the printer properties button has notbeen pressed, the process advances to step S608. If it is determinedthat printer properties button has been pressed, the CPU 221 determines,in step S604, whether the carbon copy setting button 501 has beenpressed.

If it is determined that the carbon copy setting button 501 has not beenpressed, the process advances to step S608. If it is determined that thecarbon copy setting button 501 has been pressed, the CPU 221 displays,in step S604, the carbon copy setting screen shown in FIG. 5B andaccepts, in step S605, the carbon copy setting.

In step S606, the CPU 221 determines whether the OK button on the carboncopy setting screen has been pressed. If it is determined that the OKbutton has not been pressed, the processing is repeated from step S603.If it is determined that the OK button has been pressed, the CPU 221reflects, in step S607, the carbon copy setting to the print job. Instep S608, the CPU 221 determines whether a print button on the printscreen has been pressed. If it is determined that the print button hasnot been pressed, the processing is repeated from step S602. Otherwise,the processing of FIG. 6 ends.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a print job (or print data stored in theHDD 204) which is received by the job reception module 301 of the imageforming apparatus 100. A print job 700 is formed by a job controlcommand portion 710 and a PDL portion 720. Attributes related to theoverall print job and print settings are described in the job controlcommand portion 710. For example, the job name of the print job, theowner of the print job, and format information of the PDL portion 720are described in the job control command portion. The print settings ofthe print job are also described in the job control command portion 710.The print settings of the print job include, for example, the copycount, the setting for double-sided printing, and the like. For example,a drawing parameter setting command for setting a font to be used or thelike, a drawing command, a page break command, and the like aredescribed in the PDL portion 720. The data interpretation module 304counts the number of page break commands in the PDL portion 720 toobtain the total page count included in the print data. The print datachange module 308 changes the job control command portion 710 or the PDLportion 720 based on the contents of a change instruction.

FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of bibliographic information in anXML format and the data structure used when storing the bibliographicinformation in the HDD 204. In this embodiment, the bibliographicinformation is stored, in the HDD 204, as a tree structure in which theuser name is the root and each piece of bibliographic information is aleaf. Here, the user name is the job owner information itself describedin the job control command portion 710, a part of the job ownerinformation, or a character string that has been uniquely pre-assignedfor each piece of owner information. The job storage module 303determines the user name based on the owner information extracted by thedata interpretation module 304, and stores the bibliographic informationin an appropriate node.

Bibliographic information 820 is an example of the bibliographicinformation in an XML format. A description 821 is a part of the printdata information extracted by the data interpretation module 304. Printsetting contents that can be changed by the print data change module 308are included in the description 821. A description 822 includes a printdata status indicated in the bibliographic information 820. The printdata status is, for example, information indicating whether the printingoperation has been executed or not. A description 823 is print settinghistory information that indicates the print setting information whichcan be changed by the print data change module 308 and has beenextracted from the print settings set when the corresponding print datahad been printed previously. The print setting history informationbecomes the initial setting values of the print settings when the printdata corresponding to the bibliographic information 820 is to bereprinted. Note that there may be a case in which the information thatshould be described in the description 821 of the bibliographicinformation is not described in the print job received by the jobreception module 301. In this case, the job analysis module 302 willdetermine the information required for the description 821 of thebibliographic information 820.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views each showing an example of a user interfacescreen displayed on the operation unit 211 of the image formingapparatus 100 when a carbon copy job has been held in the image formingapparatus 100. In the image forming apparatus 100, it is possible tomake a hold OFF setting in which a print job received by the imageforming apparatus 100 is directly printed and a hold ON setting in whichthe received print job is temporarily held and the printing of the heldprint job is started under the instruction of the user. If the hold ONsetting has been set, the user can confirm the job name and the printsettings of the held print job and confirm the image by preview on thescreen shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. It is also possible to change the printsettings, and a change to the copy count can be accepted by input via anumeric keypad on a text box 910.

FIG. 9A is a view showing an example of a user interface screen that isgenerated by the stored job control module 307 in step S1003 of FIG. 10(to be described later). Buttons 901 and 902 on a screen 900 are buttonsfor selecting the displayed print data. The button 901 is a button fordisplaying a list of unprinted print data, and the button 902 is abutton for displaying a list of printed print data. A button 903 is abutton for updating the screen 900. In each of display areas 904 and 905that show a print data list, an area where the job name of the printdata and information of a part of the print data described in thecorresponding bibliographic information and a corresponding one of checkboxes 906 and 907 for selecting the print data are included. Here, theprint data displayed in the display area 904 is a print job with acarbon copy setting. The print data displayed in the display area 905 isa print job without the carbon copy setting.

A display area 908 displays total number of print data and the number ofselected print data. A button 909 is a button to make all of the printdata displayed on the list change to a selected state. The text box 910is a text box to which the output copy count of the print data in theselected state is input. A button 911 is a button forconfirming/changing the print setting of the print data in the selectedstate. A button 912 is a button for displaying a preview of the printdata in the selected state. A button 913 is a button for deleting theprint data in the selected state. A button 914 is a button for printingthe print data in the selected state.

The stored job control module 307 controls the text box 910 so that itwill be displayed when only one print data is selected. The stored jobcontrol module 307 sets the copy count set in the selected print data asthe initial value in the text box 910. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, aprint job with a carbon copy setting and a print job without a carboncopy setting can be displayed in the same manner in a list.

The display control processing of the user interface screen shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustratingthe display control processing of the user interface screen shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B. The processing of FIG. 10 is, for example, implementedby the CPU 201 reading out a program stored in the ROM 202 to the RAM203 and executing the readout program. However, it will be assumed thatthe stored job control module 307 on the program will execute eachprocess in the description hereinafter.

The stored job control module 307 receives the user information via theoperation unit I/F 210 and specifies the user (step S1001). The storedjob control module 307 displays, for example, a user interface screenfor inputting the user name and the password on an LCD (not shown)connected to the operation unit I/F 210, and reads the information inputby the user in the user interface screen. Next, the stored job controlmodule 307 sets the type of the print data which is to be a displaytarget on the user interface screen to be generated (step S1002). Inthis embodiment, the stored job control module 307 can switch whether todisplay only unprinted print data or only printed print data as theprint data to be displayed on the user interface screen. In thisembodiment, it will be set so that only the unprinted print data will bedisplayed first. Note that among the pieces of bibliographic informationstored in the HDD 204, the stored job control module 307 determines theaforementioned user name from the user information specified in stepS1001 and extracts the bibliographic information corresponding to aprint job node corresponding to the user name. Then, the stored jobcontrol module determines whether the print job has been printed fromthe contents described in the bibliographic information, and extracts,from the pieces of the bibliographic information, each job name of thebibliographic information matching the conditions, and displays eachextracted name. Subsequently, the stored job control module generates auser interface screen which includes the plurality of extracted jobnames and displays the generated user interface screen (step S1003).

Next, the stored job control module 307 stands by until an input isaccepted on the user interface screen (step S1004). If the input on theuser interface screen is an input to change the type of the displayedprint data (YES in step S1005), the stored job control module 307switches the type of the print data to be displayed and updates the userinterface screen (step S1006).

If an input on the user interface screen is an input to select thedisplayed print data (YES in step S1007), the stored job control module307 changes the selected print data from an unselected state to aselected state or from a selected state to an unselected state (stepS1008). Subsequently, the stored job control module 307 updates the userinterface screen. The selection state of this print data is held in theHDD 204 until the stored job control module 307 ends the display of theuser interface screen.

Processes performed when the input on the user interface screen is aninput to change the print copy count of the print data in the selectedstate (YES in step S1009) will be described later with reference to FIG.11A. Processes performed when the input on the user interface screen isan input to print the print data in the selected state (YES in stepS1010) will be described later with reference to FIG. 11B. Processesperformed when the input on the user interface screen is an input toconfirm/change the print settings of the print data in the selectedstate (YES in step S1011) will be described later with reference to FIG.12.

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to delete theprint data in the selected state (YES in step S1012), the stored jobcontrol module 307 deletes the selected print data and its correspondingbibliographic information from the HDD 204 (step S1013).

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to end the displayof the currently displayed user interface screen (YES in step S1014),the stored job control module 307 closes the displayed user interfacescreen and ends the processing of FIG. 10 (step S1015). If it is not aninput to end the display of the currently displayed user interfacescreen in step S1014, the processing is repeated from step S1004.

Processing executed when the stored job control module 307 receives aninput to change the print copy count of the print data in the selectedstate will be described next with reference to FIG. 11A.

When the stored job control module 307 detects the input of a numericalvalue to the text box 910 of FIG. 9A, the stored job control module 307accepts the input of the copy count until the input of the copy counthas been completed (step S1101). This is because the copy count is anumerical value and an input is accepted for each digit. For example,the copy count input may be determined to be complete, for example, whenan input focus disappears from the text box 910. Alternatively, the copycount input can be determined to be complete when another type of inputis detected. When the completion of the copy count input is detected,the stored job control module 307 stores the numerical value input inthe text box 910 as a provisional copy count in the RAM 203 (stepS1102). The provisional copy count is the parameter that is referred toby the stored job control module 307 when it detects that the button 914for starting the printing operation has been pressed. After the processof step S1102, the process advances to step S1006.

Processing executed when the stored job control module 307 receives aninput for printing the print data in the selected state will bedescribed next with reference to FIG. 11B.

If there are a plurality of print data in the selected state in theprocessing illustrated by the flowchart of FIG. 10, the stored jobcontrol module 307 selects on print data (step S1111). For example, theorder in which the print data were selected can be stored in the RAM203, and the stored job control module can preferentially select theprint data that was selected earlier. Next, the stored job controlmodule 307 determines, based on the bibliographic information, whetherthe print data selected in step S1111 is printed print data (that is,print data to be reprinted) or unprinted print data (step S1112). If itis the print data to be reprinted, the stored job control module 307obtains the copy count setting value from the print setting historyinformation (the description 823 in FIG. 8) in the bibliographicinformation read from the HDD 204 (step S1113). On the other hand, ifthe print data is unprinted print data, the stored job control module307 obtains the copy count setting value from the print data information(the description 821 in FIG. 8) in the bibliographic information (stepS1114).

After step S1113 or step S1114, the stored job control module 307compares the provisional copy count stored in the RAM 203 with the copycount obtained in step S1113 or step S1114 (step S1115). Here, if theset provisional copy count differs from the copy count value obtained instep S1113 or step S1114, a carbon copy setting (to be described laterwith reference to FIG. 13) will be performed. Subsequently, the setcarbon copy setting and the print data are transmitted to the print datachange module 308 and the print data is changed. Here, if printed printdata has been selected as the target data, the print settings set in theprint setting history information (the description 823 in FIG. 8) in thebibliographic information is also transmitted to the print data changemodule 308.

The stored job control module 307 transmits the print data, which hasbeen changed in the manner described above, to the print processingmodule 309 (step S1116). Note that in a case in which the carbon copysetting has not been made and the printed print data has not beenselected as the target data, the stored job control module reads theprint data corresponding to the bibliographic information from the HDD204 and transmits the read print data to the print processing module 309without changing the print data. Next, the stored job control module 307updates the print setting history information (the description 823 inFIG. 8) in the bibliographic information corresponding to the printedprint data and the status (the description 822 in FIG. 8) of the printdata (step S1117).

The above described processing is repeated for each selected print data(step S1118). When the processing of all of the print data has beencompleted, the stored job control module 307 switches the setting sothat the type of the print data to be displayed on the user interfacescreen will be printed print data (step S1119). After step S1119, theprocess advances to step S1006.

Processing executed when the stored job control module 307 receives aninput to confirm/change the print setting of the print data in theselected state will be described next with reference to FIG. 12. Notethat the print data change module 308 can execute the change processingof only one print data at a time. Hence, in a case in which a pluralityof print data have been selected, the stored job control module 307 maycontrol the user interface so that an input for changing the printsettings will not be accepted.

The stored job control module 307 determines, from the bibliographicinformation corresponding to the designated print data, whether thedesignated print data is printed print data (that is, print data that isto be reprinted) or is unprinted print data (step S1201). If it is printdata that is to be reprinted, the stored job control module 307 readsthe print setting information from the print setting history information(the description 823 in FIG. 8) in the bibliographic information andstores the read print setting information in the RAM 203 (step S1202).On the other hand, if it is unprinted print data, the stored job controlmodule 307 loads the print setting information from the print datainformation (the description 821 in FIG. 8) in the bibliographicinformation to the RAM 203 (step S1203). Next, based on the printsetting information loaded to the RAM 203, the stored job control module307 generates and displays the print setting screen which is the userinterface screen to accept the print setting change (step S1204). Next,the stored job control module 307 stands by until it accepts an input onthe print setting screen (step S1205).

If the input on the print setting screen is an input to change the printsettings of the currently selected print data (YES in step S1206), thestored job control module 307 accepts the input by displaying acorresponding screen for changing each print setting. Subsequently, thestored job control module 307 changes the print setting informationstored in the RAM 203 based on each accepted value (step S1207).Subsequently, the processing is repeated from step S1205.

If the input on the print setting screen is an input for printing thecurrently selected print data (YES in step S1208), the stored jobcontrol module 307 determines whether the copy count in the printsetting differs from the copy count of the carbon copy setting (stepS1209). If they differ, the stored job control module 307 performs thecarbon copy setting (to be described later with reference to FIG. 13).The stored job control module 307 then overwrites the print settinginformation by the set carbon copy setting (step S1211). Subsequently,the stored job control module 307 transmits the selected print data andthe above-described print setting information to the print data changemodule 308 and changes the print data. Subsequently, the changed printdata is transmitted to the print processing module 309 (step S1210). Instep S1209, if the copy count of the print settings and the copy countof the carbon copy setting are the same or if the print job is not acarbon copy job, the process advances to step S1210.

Next, based on the above-described print setting information, the storedjob control module 307 updates the print setting history information(the description 823 in FIG. 8) in the corresponding bibliographicinformation. Furthermore, the stored job control module 307 updates thestatus (the description 822 in FIG. 8) of the print data (step S1212).Subsequently, the stored job control module 307 switches the setting sothat the type of the print data to be displayed on the user interfacescreen will be set to printed print data (step S1213).

If the input on the print setting screen is not an input to print theselected print data but is an input to close the print setting screen(step S1214), or if the series of processes of the print processing hasbeen executed, the stored job control module 307 closes the printsetting screen (step S1215). After step S1215, the process advances tostep S1006.

Processing executed when the stored job control module 307 is to make acarbon copy setting will be described next with reference to FIG. 13.

The stored job control module 307 generates a screen including a messageexpressing the necessity of the execution of the carbon copy setting anddisplays the generated screen (step S1301). Next, the stored job controlmodule 307 generates and displays a user interface screen to make thecarbon copy setting (step S1302). Here, the user interface screen forthe carbon copy setting is generated based on the print settings of theselected print job and the copy count which has been set separately bythe user. This user interface screen displays the feeding stage set foreach set copy. The user interface screen will display that the feedingstage has not been configured for a copy without a feeding stagesetting. In this user interface screen, a feeding stage can be set foreach copy and the copy count can be changed. Next, the stored jobcontrol module 307 stands by until it accepts an input on the userinterface screen (step S1303).

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to change thefeeding stage setting of a specific copy (YES in step S1304), the storedjob control module 307 displays a feeding stage selection screen andaccepts the setting of a feeding stage with respect to the correspondingcopy (step S1305). Subsequently, the processing is repeated from stepS1303.

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to change the copycount (YES in step S1306), the stored job control module 307 changes thecopy count in accordance with the input (step S1307). Subsequently, theprocessing is repeated from step S1303.

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to complete thecarbon copy setting (YES in step S1308), the stored job control module307 determines whether the feeding stage setting has been made for allof the copies (step S1309). If the feeding stage setting has not beenmade for all of the copies, the stored job control module 307 repeatsthe processing from step S1301. Otherwise, the processing of FIG. 13ends.

FIGS. 14A to 14C are views each showing an example of a screen relatedto the carbon copy setting which is generated by the stored job controlmodule 307. FIG. 14A is a view showing an example of a message to bedisplayed in step S1301 of FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 14A, in a case inwhich the provisional copy count obtained in step S1115 of FIG. 11Bdiffers from the copy count of the print data, or in a case in which thecopy count of the print settings in step S1209 of FIG. 12 differs fromthe copy count of the carbon copy count setting, a message that says,“The carbon copy setting is inadequate. Please set a feeding stage forevery copy.” will be displayed.

FIG. 14B is view showing an example of a user interface screen for thecarbon copy setting, and is displayed in step S1302 of FIG. 13. Adisplay area 1401 is an area where the information of the print datawhose carbon copy setting is to be changed is displayed. A check box1402 is a check box for selecting whether to execute the carbon copyprinting operation. A list 1403 is a list which displays the feedingstage set of each copy. This list 1403 further includes, for each copy,a button 1404 for changing the feeding stage setting and a button 1405for deleting. A slider bar 1406 is a slider bar for adjusting theposition of the displayed list when the list 1403 cannot be included ina single screen. A button 1407 is a button to add a copy count. A button1408 is button to end the carbon copy setting.

Upon detecting that the button 1404 has been pressed, the stored jobcontrol module 307 displays a feeding stage selection screen as shown inFIG. 14C. The screen shown in FIG. 14C includes a button 1411 acceptingthe selection of a feeding stage, an image 1412 to visually display theselected feeding stage, and a button 1413 to end the selection of thefeeding stage. For example, consider a case in which printing is to beexecuted by changing the copy count set in the carbon copy setting ofthe print data from 2 to 3 in step S1009 of FIG. 10. In this case, inaddition to the two copies preset in the carbon copy setting, one copyin the carbon copy setting whose feeding stage has not been set yet isalso displayed in the list 1403. As result, the user can set the feedingstage for the one copy in carbon copy settings whose feeding stage hasnot been set yet via the screen shown in FIG. 14C.

FIG. 15 is a view showing an example of a user interface screen toaccept the print setting change generated by the stored job controlmodule 307. The screen shown in FIG. 15 is displayed when the button 911shown in FIG. 9A is pressed. A display area 1501 is an area fordisplaying a piece of setting information which will not be changedamong the pieces of information of the print data. A display area 1502is an area for displaying the copy count in the print settings. Buttons1503 and 1504 are buttons for changing the copy count in the printsettings. The copy count is decremented by 1 when the button 1503 ispressed, and the copy count is incremented by 1 when the button 1504 ispressed. A display area 1505 is an area for displaying the currently setprint setting information. A button 1506 is a button for changing thecarbon copy setting. A button 1507 is a button for changing the colorsetting in the print setting information. A button 1508 is a button forchanging the double-sided printing setting in the print settinginformation. A button 1509 is a button for closing the print settingscreen. A button 1510 is a button for printing the selected print data.

When the button 1506 is pressed, the stored job control module 307displays the carbon copy setting screen shown in FIG. 14B, and becomescapable of accepting the carbon copy setting. On the other hand, thestored job control module can also accept a change to the copy count viathe buttons 1503 and 1504. In this case, the stored job control module307 confirms, upon detecting that the button 1510 has been pressed,whether there is inconsistency in the carbon copy setting and the copycount setting, and displays the screen shown in FIG. 14A if there is aninconsistency, and causes the user to make the carbon copy setting bythe screen shown in FIG. 14B.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible tochange the copy count of a print job with a carbon copy printing settingin the same manner as a print job without a carbon copy print setting.That is, the user can handle a print job with a carbon copy setting inthe same manner as a print job without a carbon copy setting, and thusthe usability can be improved.

Here, there may be a situation in which the copy count set by the userand the carbon copy setting becomes inconsistent by allowing the user tochange the copy count of a carbon copy job that has been held in theimage forming apparatus. However, in this embodiment, if there is aninconsistency between the copy count set by the user and the carbon copysetting, a message regarding this state is displayed, and a screen formaking the carbon copy setting is displayed. Therefore, even if it ispossible to change the copy count of a print job with a carbon copysetting in the image forming apparatus, a hold printing operation can beperformed by setting an appropriate copy count.

Second Embodiment

Points different from those in the first embodiment will be described inthe second embodiment hereinafter. FIGS. 16A and 16B are sequence chartsfor explaining the overall print job processing sequence in an imageforming system according to the second embodiment.

When a user selects (S420) a print job with a carbon copy setting on ascreen displaying a print job list, an image forming apparatus 100detects that a print job with a carbon copy setting has been selected(S1601). The image forming apparatus 100 then changes a text box 910 forchanging the copy count, which is arranged on the screen displaying theprint job list, into a writing disabled state so that a copy countchange via the text box 910 will be prohibited (S1602).

To allow the user to change the carbon copy setting, a notification tochange the print setting is transmitted (S1603). The image formingapparatus 100 then displays (S1604) a setting screen to change theoverall print settings of the print job with the carbon copy setting.The screen which is displayed at this time is a print setting screen asshown in FIG. 15. When the user operates the print setting screen andmakes an instruction to change the carbon copy setting (S1605), theimage forming apparatus 100 displays (S426) a carbon copy setting screenfor changing the carbon copy setting. The screen that is displayed atthis time is the carbon copy setting screen shown in FIG. 14B. The usercan make inputs to the carbon copy setting screen to instruct the carboncopy setting (S1606).

The image forming apparatus 100 holds the instructed carbon copy setting(S1607), and performs print processing (S429), based on an printinstruction from the user (S424), in accordance with the carbon copysetting held in S1607.

The display control processing of the user interface screen of FIGS. 9Aand 9B according to this embodiment will be described below withreference to FIG. 10.

If the input on the user interface screen is an input to select thedisplayed print data (YES in step S1007), a stored job control module307 changes the selected print data from an unselected state to aselected state or from a selected state to an unselected state (stepS1008). Subsequently, the stored job control module 307 updates the userinterface (S1006). At this time, in this embodiment, if a plurality ofprint jobs have been selected or if the selected print job has a carboncopy setting, the stored job control module 307 changes the text box 910to a state in which input acceptance is disabled as shown in FIG. 9B.The stored job control module 307 can notify the user that the copycount setting cannot be changed by graying out the text box 910. Notethat the stored job control module 307 will determine, based on thebibliographic information, whether the print job that is to be displayedin step S1003 has a carbon copy setting, and stores this piece ofinformation in a RAM 203 as the flag information for each print job. Asa result, the stored job control module 307 can rapidly determinewhether the selected print job has a carbon copy setting.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible todisplay, before the print instruction, whether the print job has acarbon copy setting on the user interface screen so that it can beeasily recognized by the user. In addition, it is possible to avoid astate in which the copy count set by the user and the carbon copysetting become inconsistent due to an erroneous copy count changeoperation.

Third Embodiment

Points different from those in the first and second embodiments will bedescribed in the third embodiment hereinafter. FIG. 16B is a sequencechart for explaining the overall print job processing sequence in animage forming system according to the third embodiment.

When a print job is submitted, an image forming apparatus 100 detects(S1611) whether the submitted print job is a carbon copy job. If itdetects that the print job is a carbon copy job, the image formingapparatus 100 divides the received print job based on the carbon copysetting and registers the print job as a held print job (S1612). Forexample, if two copies are set in the carbon copy setting, it will beregistered here as two held print jobs, that is, divided job 1 anddivided job 2. When the user selects divided job 1 and designates thecopy count (S1613), the image forming apparatus 100 updates the copycount setting of divided job 1 (S1614). When the user selects dividedjob 2 and designates the copy count (S1615), the image forming apparatus100 updates the copy count setting of divided job 2 (S1616). When theuser makes an instruction to print divided jobs 1 and 2, the imageforming apparatus 100 executes print processing based on the respectivecopy count designations described above.

FIG. 17A is a view showing an example of a user interface screengenerated by a stored job control module 307 according to thisembodiment. The user interface screen shown in FIG. 17A differs fromthose shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B in the point of the print job listdisplay method. A display area 1701 shows the first copy of a print jobwith a carbon copy setting. A display area 1702 shows the second copy ofthe same print job with the carbon copy setting as that shown in thedisplay area 1701.

Thus, in this embodiment, a print job with a carbon copy setting isdivided on a copy basis and displayed in a list so that various kinds ofprint settings, including the copy count, can be set in the same manneras a print job without a carbon copy setting. FIG. 17B shows a state inwhich a carbon copy job has been divided and registered. A print jobinput as a carbon copy job in bibliographic information 1710 is dividedand registered as bibliographic information 1711 and bibliographicinformation 1712.

In this embodiment, a job storage module 303 determines whether a printjob that has been received at the time of print job reception is setwith a carbon copy setting. If the print job has a carbon copy setting,bibliographic information is generated for each copy designated in thecarbon copy setting. This processing will be described with reference tothe flowchart of FIG. 18A.

FIG. 18A is flowchart illustrating processing to generate bibliographicinformation for each copy in the carbon copy setting. The processingillustrated in FIG. 18A is, for example, implemented by a CPU 201reading out a program stored in a ROM 202 and executing the program.However, it will be assumed that the job storage module 303 on thereadout program will execute each process in the descriptionhereinafter.

The job storage module 303 stores the received print job as print datain an HDD 204 (step S1801). Next, the job storage module 303 analyzesthe information of the stored print data by using a data interpretationmodule 304 (step S1802). If it is determined, based on the analysisresult, that a carbon copy setting has been made on the print data (YESin step S1803), the job storage module 303 generates bibliographicinformation for each copy in the carbon copy setting (S1804). In thegeneration of the bibliographic information, the carbon copy setting isdeleted and a feeding stage setting corresponding to each copy is addedinstead. In addition, the job name attribute may be further changed. Inthis embodiment, the copy count information is added to the job nameattribute. For example, “the first copy of” is added as a characterstring to the job name of the bibliographic information corresponding tothe first copy.

On the other hand, bibliographic information is generated in the samemanner as the other embodiments for print data that does not have acarbon copy setting (S1805). Next, the job storage module 303 stores thegenerated bibliographic information in the HDD 204 (step S1806).

The operation of the stored job control module 307 according to thisembodiment will be described next with reference to FIGS. 18B and 19.The processing illustrated in FIG. 19 is, for example, implemented bythe CPU 201 reading out a program stored in the ROM 202 to a RAM 203 andexecuting the program. However, it will be assumed that the stored jobcontrol module 307 on the readout program will execute each process inthe description hereinafter.

In the processing illustrated in FIG. 19, if the input on the userinterface screen is an input to select the displayed print data (YES instep S1007), the processing illustrated in FIG. 18B is executed.

The processing of FIG. 18B will be referred here. The stored job controlmodule 307 confirms whether the selected print data is in a selectedstate (step S1811). If the print data is in a selected state, the storedjob control module 307 cancels the selected state of the designatedprint data (step S1812). If the print data is not in a selected state,the stored job control module 307 sets the selected print data to aselected state (step S1813).

Next, the stored job control module 307 searches (step S1814) the printdata displayed on the user interface screen for bibliographicinformation which is set with the same print data as the print data setin the bibliographic information corresponding to the print data thathas been set to the selected state. When the print data is discovered,the stored job control module 307 changes the discovered print data tothe selected state (step S1815). After step S1815, the process advancesto step S1006 of FIG. 19.

The processing of FIG. 19 will be referred again. If the input on theuser interface screen is an input to delete the print data in theselected state (step S1012), the stored job control module 307 deletesthe bibliographic information corresponding to the selected print datafrom the HDD 204 (step S1901). Next, the stored job control module 307determines whether the print data can be deleted from the HDD 204 (stepS1902). That is, the stored job control module searches, in the HDD 204,for bibliographic information that has been set with the same print dataas the print data stored in the HDD 204 and has been set in thebibliographic information corresponding to the print data which wasdeleted in step S1901. When bibliographic information as that describedabove is discovered, the stored job control module 307 determines thatthe print data can be deleted from the HDD 204, and deletes the printdata corresponding to the discovered bibliographic information (stepS1903). On the other hand, if bibliographic information as thatdescribed above is not discovered, the process advances from step S1902to step S1006.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible tohandle a print job with a carbon copy setting as separate print jobs foreach copy. As a result, print settings can be made in the same manner asthose for print jobs other than the print job with a carbon copysetting, and the consistency between the copies and the feeding stagecount that had been designated in the carbon copy job can be maintained,even if the user changes the copy count on the image forming apparatus.

Also, in a case in which a print job is divided into a plurality ofprint jobs by the carbon copy setting, if one print job is selected fromthe divided print jobs, other divided print jobs will be also selected.As a result, even after the division, the divided print jobs can beprinted together at once in the same manner as a print job with a carboncopy setting. Furthermore, even after the division, the divided printjobs can be deleted together at once in the same manner as a print jobwith a carbon copy setting.

Fourth Embodiment

Points different from those in the first to third embodiments will bedescribed in the fourth embodiment hereinafter.

Processing to cancel a carbon copy job when the copy count of the carboncopy job has been changed according to this embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIG. 20. The processing illustrated in FIG. 20 is, forexample, implemented by a CPU 201 of an image forming apparatus 100reading out a program stored in a ROM 202 to a RAM 203 and executing theprogram.

In step S2001, the CPU 201 receives a print job 601 via a network I/F212 and stores the received print job in the RAM 203. In step S2002, theCPU 201 executes control command interpretation processing on the printjob received in step S2001. In step S2003, the CPU 201 determineswhether the print job interpreted in step S2002 is a held print job.Here, if it is determined that the print job is a held print job, theprocess advances to step S2004. Otherwise, the process advances to stepS2008.

In step S2004, the CPU 201 executes hold processing on the print jobreceived in step S2001. In step S2005, the CPU 201 determines whether anoperation to change the print settings has been instructed. Theoperation to change the print settings includes an operation to changethe print copy count. Here, if it is determined that the operation tochange the print settings has been instructed, the process advances tostep S2006. Otherwise, the process advances to step S2007. In stepS2006, the CPU 201 executes the operation to change the print settings.In step S2007, the CPU 201 determines whether a print start instructionhas been performed. If it is determined that the print start instructionhas been performed, the process advances to step S2008. Otherwise, theprocessing is repeated from step S2005.

In step S2008, the CPU 201 determines whether the print job, to which itreceived a print start instruction in step S2007, is a carbon copy job.Here, if it is determined that the print job is a carbon copy job, theprocess advances to step S2009. Otherwise, the process advances to stepS2012. In step S2012, the CPU 201 executes the print processing on theprint job, and subsequently, the processing of FIG. 20 ends.

In step S2009, the CPU 201 determines whether the print copy count setby the user and the feeding stage count designated in the print job havethe same value. If it is determined that the respective counts have thesame value, the CPU 201 executes, in step S2010, the carbon copyprinting, and subsequently, the processing of FIG. 20 ends. On the otherhand, if it is determined that the respective counts do not have thesame value, the CPU 201 cancels, in step S2011, the print processing ofthe carbon copy job which received the print start instruction, andsubsequently, the processing of FIG. 20 ends.

When the print processing of the carbon copy job is to be canceled, itmay be set so that a message screen regarding this cancellation will bedisplayed. For example, the user can be prompted to confirm the settingcontents by displaying a message indicating that “Printing cannot beexecuted since the set copy count and the feeding stage count aredifferent. Please confirm the setting contents.” It may be set so thatthe print setting screen shown in FIG. 15 will be displayed.

FIGS. 21A and 21B are flowcharts illustrating another processing,according to this embodiment, which is executed when the copy count of acarbon copy job has been changed. FIGS. 21A and 21B differ from FIG. 20in the processes of steps S2101 and S2102.

In step S2009, if it is determined that the print copy count set by theuser and the feeding stage count designated in the print job do not havethe same value, the process advances to step S2101. In step S2101, theCPU 201 displays a screen as shown in FIG. 22 on an operation unit 211,and accepts an instruction to change or not change the print copy countset by the user to the feeding stage count designated in the print joband execute the printing. If an instruction to change the print countand execute printing is accepted, the CPU 201 executes, in step S2102,printing upon changing the print copy count set by the user to thefeeding stage count designated in the print job, and subsequently, theprocessing of FIGS. 21A and 21B ends. On the other hand, if aninstruction not to change the print copy count is accepted, the CPUcancels, in step S2011, the print processing of the carbon copy job thatreceived the print start instruction, and subsequently, the processingof FIGS. 21A and 21B ends.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in a case in which thecopy count of a carbon copy job has been changed by the user and thechanged copy count differs from the feeding stage count designated inthe carbon copy job, the execution of this carbon copy job is canceled.Alternatively, the change made to the copy count by the user is ignored,and the print copy count set by the user is changed to have the samevalue as the feeding stage count, and the job is printed. As a result,it is possible to avoid a situation in which the print copy count set bythe user and the feeding stage count designated in the print job areinconsistent.

Fifth Embodiment

Points different from those in the first to fourth embodiments will bedescribed in the fifth embodiment hereinafter.

Processing to cancel a job hold designation in a case in which a carboncopy setting is included in a held print job according to thisembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 23. The processingillustrated in FIG. 23 is implemented by, for example, a CPU 201 of animage forming apparatus 100 reading out a program stored in a ROM 202 toa RAM 203 and executing the program.

In step S2301, the CPU 201 receives a print job via a network I/F 212and stores the print job in the RAM 203. In step S2302, the CPU 201executes control command interpretation processing on the print jobreceived in step S2301. In step S2303, the CPU 201 determines whetherthe print job interpreted in step S2302 is a held print job. Here, if itis determined that the print job is a held print job, the processadvances to step S2304. Otherwise, the process advances to step S2307.

In step S2304, the CPU 201 determines whether a carbon copy setting isincluded in the print job interpreted in step S2302. If it is determinedthat the carbon copy setting is included, the CPU 201 cancels, in stepS2305, the hold designation of the print job, and the process advancesto step S2306. That is, in this embodiment, the hold designation on thecarbon copy job is canceled and the printing is executed so as toprevent the user interface screen, by which the copy count can bechanged on the image forming apparatus 100, from being displayed at thetime of a hold printing operation. As a result, it can prevent the userfrom changing the copy count when the carbon copy job is to be printed.

If it is determined that the print job is not a held print job in stepS2303, the CPU 201 determines, in step S2307, whether a carbon copysetting is included in the print job interpreted in step S2302. If it isdetermined that the carbon copy setting is included in the print job,the CPU 201 executes, in step S2306, the carbon copy printing, andsubsequently the processing of FIG. 23 ends. On the other hand, if it isdetermined that the carbon copy setting is not included the print job,the CPU 201 executes, in step S2312, the print processing on the printjob, and subsequently the processing of FIG. 23 ends.

If it is determined that the carbon copy setting is not included in theprint job in step S2304, the CPU 201 executes, in step S2308, holdprocessing on the print job, and the process advances to step S2309. Instep S2309, the CPU 201 determines whether an operation to change theprint settings has been instructed. Here, if it is determined that theoperation to change the print settings has been instructed, the CPU 201executes, in step S2310, the operation to change the print settings, andthe process advances to step S2311. On the other hand, if it isdetermined that the operation to change the print settings has not beeninstructed in step S2309, the process advances to step S2311.

In step S2311, the CPU 201 determined whether a printing startinstruction has been performed. Here, if it is determined that theprinting start instruction has been performed, the process advances tostep S2312. Otherwise, the processing is repeated from step S2309.

Processing to cancel a print job when a carbon copy setting is includedin a held print job will be described next with reference to FIG. 24.FIG. 24 differs from FIG. 23 in the process of step S2401.

If it is determined, in step S2304, that a carbon copy setting isincluded in the print job, the CPU 201 cancels, in step S2401, the printjob, and subsequently the processing of FIG. 24 ends. That is, in thisembodiment, the execution of a carbon copy job is canceled so as toprevent the user interface screen, which allows the copy count to bechanged on the image forming apparatus 100, from being displayed at thetime of the hold printing operation. As a result, it is possible toprevent the user from changing the copy count when the carbon copy jobis to be printed.

In a case in which the copy count and the feeding stage count becomeinconsistent due to the copy count setting of a carbon copy job beingchanged, it is possible that the printed product of the job will not beoutput from the desired feeding stage if the print copy count isdecreased. Also, it is also possible that sheets may be wastefullyoutput if the print copy count is increased. In this embodiment, if thecarbon copy setting is included in the held print job, the holddesignation on the print job is canceled in the above manner.Furthermore, the print job is also canceled. As a result, a state inwhich a printing operation is executed inappropriately in theabove-described manner can be avoided by not providing the user anopportunity to change the copy count on the image forming apparatus.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2017-197770, filed Oct. 11, 2017, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus that executes printingbased on a print job, comprising: an accepting unit configured to acceptan instruction to execute a print job in which a feeding stage of theimage forming apparatus has been designated for each copy; a displayunit configured to display a user interface screen for accepting anoperation to change a copy count of the print job; and a control unitconfigured to control the execution of the print job accepted by theaccepting unit, wherein in a case in which the execution of the printjob is a hold printing operation in the image forming apparatus, thecontrol unit controls the operation to change the copy count via theuser interface screen.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe accepting unit accepts the selection of a print job in a list ofprint jobs to which the hold printing operation is to be executed in theimage forming apparatus.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinin a case in which the copy count accepted via the user interface screenand a feeding stage count are different for the print job with anexecution instruction that has been accepted by the acceptance unit, thecontrol unit causes the display unit to display a setting screen tomatch the accepted copy count and the feeding stage count before theexecution of the print job.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the control unit does not allow the operation to change the copycount to be accepted.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein ina case in which the copy count accepted via the user interface screenand a feeding stage count are different for the print job with anexecution instruction that has been accepted by the acceptance unit, thecontrol unit controls the execution of the print job so that printingwill be executed in accordance with a copy count designated in the printjob regardless of the accepted copy count.
 6. The apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising: a selecting unit configured to select, in acase in which the copy count accepted via the user interface screen anda feeding stage count are different for the print job with an executioninstruction that has been accepted by the acceptance unit, whether toexecute printing in accordance with a copy count designated in the printjob regardless of the accepted copy count or to cancel the execution ofthe print job, wherein the control unit controls the execution of theprint job in accordance with a result of the selection by the selectingunit.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitcancels the execution of the print job.
 8. The apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein in a case in which the copy count accepted via the userinterface screen and a feeding stage count are different for the printjob with an execution instruction that has been accepted by theacceptance unit, the control unit cancels the execution of the printjob.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitcontrols the execution of the print job so as not to perform the holdprinting operation in the image forming apparatus.
 10. The apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the user interface screen is not displayedon the display unit when the execution of the print job is controlled.11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit dividesthe print job into each copy designated in the print job.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 11, wherein in a case in which an executioninstruction has been made for one of the divided print jobs, the controlunit executes all of the divided print jobs.
 13. The apparatus accordingto claim 11, wherein in a case in which a deletion instruction has beenmade for one of the divided print jobs, the control unit deletes all ofthe divided print jobs.
 14. A control method that is executed in animage forming apparatus which executes printing based on a print job,the method comprising: accepting an instruction to execute a print jobin which a feeding stage of the image forming apparatus has beendesignated for each copy; displaying a user interface screen foraccepting an operation to change a copy count of the print job; andcontrolling the execution of the accepted print job, wherein in a casein which the execution of the print job is a hold printing operation inthe image forming apparatus, the operation to change the copy count viathe user interface screen is controlled.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program to cause a computerto execute to: accept an instruction to execute a print job in which afeeding stage of an image forming apparatus has been designated for eachcopy; display a user interface screen for accepting an operation tochange a copy count of the print job; and control the execution of theaccepted print job, wherein in a case in which the execution of theprint job is a hold printing operation in the image forming apparatus,the operation to change the copy count via the user interface screen iscontrolled.